My local department store graciously donated this shoe box. It already had a hole cut out in the side, lined with metal and this gave me the idea that my kitties would not be able to keep themselves from sticking their paws into that hole. Thus came the inspiration to turn the challenge into a cat box. As it was built, more ideas came into my head and in the end the unit serves 3 purposes... play stations, snuggle bed, and scratching "post."

Begin.... one lidded box:

Here is the pre-existing hole that "started it all..."

Smokey supervises as I cut down cardboard for the scratching base...

The larger of the 2 scratching bases:

The smaller, also held together with Gorilla duct tape, keeping to the black fashion statement...

Dandi, testing the bases after they have been inserted into the box...

Out come the scratchers and in goes a simple toilet seat cover as a snugly...

Dandi the one who is ALWAYS squishing herself into tiny boxes approves:

Snuggly comes out and it is playtime!! This toybox is very personalized. One cat loves to chew on wood, hence the chopstick in the lid, one cat loves to chew on electronic accessory cords (has cost me a lot over the years, so I added an old computer microphone cord to the box), Smokey is addicted to my gold necklace because it is so snake-like, so I attached it to a string and it slowly glides into the box through that preexisting hole. Also to play with... a feathery dreamcatcher, a skeleton key, and a cork which is on the other end of the gold necklace and serves not only as a pull-handle for that, but also one other thing for them to bat around. There is a plastic golf ball in there that rolls around and they stick their arms through the holes trying to catch it.

One hole is covered with plastic mesh from the top of a tangerine box and serves as 'the torture hole' where they can see movement inside but cannot reach through that particular hole to get at it.

I put a toilet paper tube in, also, thinking that one of these days, a long arm is gonna try to reach down in there.

Even when the lid is alone on the floor, Smokey starts to chew on the chopstick.

It is also something to just whack at...

Other features I neglected to photograph... I glued gridded rubbery shelf liner to the box bottom so it would not slide all over the floor as they play. I glued pretty ribbon at the edges of the lid. Stickers on the side spell out CAT BOX.

This is genius in SO many ways! Who would have thought you could pack so much kitty goodness in such a tiny box. I honestly can envision kitties all over the universe having one of these babies! FAN freaking TASTIC!!